Fragment with reliefs of the life of Baco. Casa Palacio (Mengíbar, Jaén, Spain)

The sandstone block could correspond to a frieze of a burial monument that would occupy the right corner. As for the decoration in relief it is distributed in three methods, two on the main side and one on the right side. On the main side the space is delimited by a series of decorated moldings; thus, at the top there is a jonic top of ovas, with the boot very marked, and darts, which have a deep trepano in the central part and are framed with a lower list. For the separation of the methods we find two vertical forms that frame an astragalus of pearls between flat-shaped beads. Despite the enormous deterioration it seems that the right corner would have this last decoration as well. On the lower side the moldings are located on the upper and left and is based on frames, which are carved to the trépano, form small crosses. In the three delimited spaces the scenes are distributed as follows: In the front left scene is depicted a male figure, standing, naked, imberbe, who lacks his feet and his right forearm, has his left leg flexed and holds with his left hand a child who twists his head looking at the one who holds it, leaving the arms along the body. It could be the god Hermes or some satyr holding the god Bacchus boy. Two standing figures appear in the front right-hand section. The one on the right is naked with a long layer that falls from behind to the feet, carries a crown of ivy leaves and forehead bulges that could be corimbos. With his left arm he holds an elongated object, which is identified as the Bavarian tyrant, and with the right he holds another object that is perhaps the cantaro that brings the other character closer. On his left the other figure standing with flexed legs is bald and bearded and covers his naked body with a short skirt that knocks on the front, is significant the bulky belly that shows. He also wears a jar in his right hand and the odre on his left shoulder. This scene has been identified as the god Dionysus, crowned and bearing the tirso, accompanied by the old silene in the function of pouring wine from the odre in the vessel that carries the god. In the side method is depicted an erote of which one of its wings and the juvenile aspect is seen in its total nudity, with its face turned to its left, the right arm raised above the head holding some object with the hand (perhaps a cluster of grapes), the left arm crossed in front of the chest, and the right leg crossed in front of the left at knee height, which holds the weight of the body. At his side an animal figure (perhaps a dog or a feline) that rises on the hind legs, supporting the front legs in the hip of the human figure, in an attempt to reach the unidentified object that the erote holds. From the context of this decoration the animal could be a bavian panther. The lower part has been lost, so that only the right foot of the main character is preserved. This relief comes from Cerro Maquiz, a hill that rises over the Guadalbullón, and where a Roman occupation has been documented. Due to its formal characteristics, it is dated in the first century A.D. Dimensions: Overall height: 58.5 cm Maximum width: 85 cm Background: 33 cm. Relief thickness: 8 cm Bibliography: Baena, L.Beltran, J. 2002: The Roman sculptures of the province of Jaén, Murcia.pp.115-116. Romero de Torres, E. 1915: “New Roman inscriptions of Jimena and Mengíbar.” Bulletin of the Royal Academy of History, LXVI. p.19 Weiss. C. 2000: “Die Steindekmäler der Sammlung” de la Chica “in Mengíbar (Jaén) in kontext der Sepulkralkunst des oberen Guadalquivirtales” Madrider Mitteilungen, 41. p.300.